We are going for the world's record on how much baby stuff you can stuff into a one-gallon ziplock bag. We've been busy packing and repacking, rolling, stuffing, crunching, and generally rearranging things to see just how much we can send over to our little one. It's amazing just how much you can fit in one of those things! As impressive as it is to see what we are able to fit, it is not quite enough room for all of the things we'd like to fit.
To make matters worse, with the deadline fast approaching, we still have a bit more shopping to do (disposable cameras!!), so we're going to have to be very creative in order to send everything we'd like to send. We're hoping our engineering backgrounds will come in handy. :-)
The trade offs are difficult: is it better to send more clothes or more toys? Does he need another bib or another outfit? This one takes up so much room, but we really like it, but are we better off with more of these??
Stay tuned to see what makes it in to the final care package...
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
Testing...testing...
Our little one is healthy and normal and we are pleased and proud to know that he has scored very well on all the little baby tests that they run on them at this stage of development in Taiwan.
It is interesting to note that in Taiwan, they apparently run a lot more tests on infants at this age than we do here in the US. While that can be a good thing if you learn that all of the test results are normal, it can certainly be a bad thing if they aren't, especially if you are prone to worry (and aren't all mothers prone to worry when their baby's health is in question?). For example, in the US, physicians wait until the babies are older before they administer certain hearing tests, believing that babies should not yet be expected to perform consistently and well on these tests since they have not yet developed enough to do so. So, if a test in Taiwan suggests that your baby has a hearing issue, try to remain calm and remember it may not be an issue by US standards.
We've also been warned that we shouldn't be surprised if he gets the sniffles over the next few months nor should we be surprised if, as a result of his getting the sniffles, he is given a brain echo. What?! I'm not entirely sure what a brain echo is, but I think it is something akin to an MRI and, to my American way of thinking, it seems a bit of an aggressive diagnostic tool for a case of the sniffles.
In any case, it sounds like he will receive excellent care while he waits to come home. Still, we hope he stays healthy enough so that he doesn't even get a case of the sniffles.
It is interesting to note that in Taiwan, they apparently run a lot more tests on infants at this age than we do here in the US. While that can be a good thing if you learn that all of the test results are normal, it can certainly be a bad thing if they aren't, especially if you are prone to worry (and aren't all mothers prone to worry when their baby's health is in question?). For example, in the US, physicians wait until the babies are older before they administer certain hearing tests, believing that babies should not yet be expected to perform consistently and well on these tests since they have not yet developed enough to do so. So, if a test in Taiwan suggests that your baby has a hearing issue, try to remain calm and remember it may not be an issue by US standards.
We've also been warned that we shouldn't be surprised if he gets the sniffles over the next few months nor should we be surprised if, as a result of his getting the sniffles, he is given a brain echo. What?! I'm not entirely sure what a brain echo is, but I think it is something akin to an MRI and, to my American way of thinking, it seems a bit of an aggressive diagnostic tool for a case of the sniffles.
In any case, it sounds like he will receive excellent care while he waits to come home. Still, we hope he stays healthy enough so that he doesn't even get a case of the sniffles.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Timing
Referral Day arrived a little later than we had originally planned and hoped, or a lot later, depending on how you count.
When we first started this whole process, adoptions from Taiwan were happening MUCH more quickly than they are now. Way back in early 2006, if you got your paperwork in, you could expect to get your referral in 2-3 months(!) and you could plan to travel 3-5 months after that. That was potentially less than nine months from start to finish. Yikes!!
By the time we got our paperwork in back in October, the expected wait time to referral had extended to 5-6 months, with an emphasis on six months. For those of you adept at advanced math, you can see that our referral wait time was a little over six months. Adoption time line math is always a little fuzzy since it's not always clear when you're officially on the wait list, but six plus months is in the ball park.
We feel fortunate. Those that are entering the pipeline now are being told they might wait as much as a year to receive their referral. That sounds long to us, but not to those considering China where wait times are now close to 2.5 years!
When we first started this whole process, adoptions from Taiwan were happening MUCH more quickly than they are now. Way back in early 2006, if you got your paperwork in, you could expect to get your referral in 2-3 months(!) and you could plan to travel 3-5 months after that. That was potentially less than nine months from start to finish. Yikes!!
By the time we got our paperwork in back in October, the expected wait time to referral had extended to 5-6 months, with an emphasis on six months. For those of you adept at advanced math, you can see that our referral wait time was a little over six months. Adoption time line math is always a little fuzzy since it's not always clear when you're officially on the wait list, but six plus months is in the ball park.
We feel fortunate. Those that are entering the pipeline now are being told they might wait as much as a year to receive their referral. That sounds long to us, but not to those considering China where wait times are now close to 2.5 years!
Referral Day
Referral Day has arrived! Even though we've been told a dozen times what to expect on referral day, nothing quite prepares you for seeing a picture of your son for the first time, reading through his medical records, learning about the circumstances surrounding his birth and realizing that he will, if all goes well, be yours. We were, to be honest, in a bit of a shocked state.
The day started out as I'm sure many will - we had planned to be in meetings and working from dawn until dusk. Our plans changed completely. Instead, we started the day by taking my dear husband to the doctor to find out he would need to have surgery on his knee AND on his ankle. As if that wasn't bad enough news, the injuries are, of course, on opposite sides, so the surgeries need to be staggered so that he can get around while he heals from each of the surgeries.
We rushed out of the doctor's office to visit our agency and arrived on time, but Fedex did not. The agency did a wonderful job of putting together our referral package (pictures, medical records and documents for us to sign) without the Fedex package we were all waiting on and Fedex showed up just as we were heading out the door, so it all worked out and we arrived back at home just in time for hubbie to make it to his lunch meeting.
We did manage to relax long enough and late enough to have a very nice dinner celebration.
What a day!!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
The Call
The message on the machine was innocuous enough: "Call me. I have a bit of an update for you.".
We were pretty sure that meant we didn't make it into this batch of referrals and that the "good " news would be that we would be near the top of the list when the next batch came in. We called the agency back, but they were gone for the day and we figured we were out of luck for the evening. Imagine our surprise when the phone rang and we learned that our referral is here!!! Our baby boy, should we choose to accept him, is normal and healthy and, we're told, cuuuute! We won't see the photos until tomorrow - a day when my dear husband had already packed his schedule far beyond capacity, but sometimes you just have to make priority changes even on days when you thought it wasn't possible.
Tomorrow morning, we will see photos, medical records, and we're not sure what else. And then the next wait begins. Oh, and the shopping!!
We were pretty sure that meant we didn't make it into this batch of referrals and that the "good " news would be that we would be near the top of the list when the next batch came in. We called the agency back, but they were gone for the day and we figured we were out of luck for the evening. Imagine our surprise when the phone rang and we learned that our referral is here!!! Our baby boy, should we choose to accept him, is normal and healthy and, we're told, cuuuute! We won't see the photos until tomorrow - a day when my dear husband had already packed his schedule far beyond capacity, but sometimes you just have to make priority changes even on days when you thought it wasn't possible.
Tomorrow morning, we will see photos, medical records, and we're not sure what else. And then the next wait begins. Oh, and the shopping!!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
News! Sort of...
Well, I finally got tired of waiting for an update from our agency and called them. We haven't heard ANYthing since December when we called the agency and were told we'd get updates approximately every month or so. Heh.
Anyway, the news was mostly good at a time when we could really use some good news. We are "around" sixth on the wait list with our agency, so depending on the number of babies included in the next batch of referrals they receive, we may be hearing something very soon! Yikes!!!
I also learned that travel times are ranging between three and seven months after referral, with most traveling within four months after referral. Babies are between three and five months old at referral, so between six and twelve months old by the time they come home. Try to prepare for that range of tiny clothes!
Anyway, the news was mostly good at a time when we could really use some good news. We are "around" sixth on the wait list with our agency, so depending on the number of babies included in the next batch of referrals they receive, we may be hearing something very soon! Yikes!!!
I also learned that travel times are ranging between three and seven months after referral, with most traveling within four months after referral. Babies are between three and five months old at referral, so between six and twelve months old by the time they come home. Try to prepare for that range of tiny clothes!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Questions...
Today we received a questionnaire from our agency. We weren't expecting it and we haven't heard aaaaaany news in a looooong time, so it felt good to have something that seemed like it was making a productive contribution to the process during the wait.
The questionaire was a two-pager that could just as easily have been filled out at the beginning of the process along with all the other paperwork. For some reason they sent it now - not long (we hope) before we expect to receive our referral. Interesting.
Curious yet? Ok, I'll get to the content. Each of the questions had one of three possible responses: "yes", "would consider", or "no". While some of the questions were basic and had already been considered (e.g. boy? girl? twins?), others were a bit more sticky (e.g. premature? low birth weight? birth mother smokes?). The remainder were all about various afflictions and maladies that you prefer to think just don't happen in this century, but sadly, they do. In any case, the answers all came relatively easily to us and we had the form back in the mail within an hour of opening it.
Is it progress? We hope so!
The questionaire was a two-pager that could just as easily have been filled out at the beginning of the process along with all the other paperwork. For some reason they sent it now - not long (we hope) before we expect to receive our referral. Interesting.
Curious yet? Ok, I'll get to the content. Each of the questions had one of three possible responses: "yes", "would consider", or "no". While some of the questions were basic and had already been considered (e.g. boy? girl? twins?), others were a bit more sticky (e.g. premature? low birth weight? birth mother smokes?). The remainder were all about various afflictions and maladies that you prefer to think just don't happen in this century, but sadly, they do. In any case, the answers all came relatively easily to us and we had the form back in the mail within an hour of opening it.
Is it progress? We hope so!
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